ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: date · perch · face · spring · game · kick · capital · cap

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. spring — the season
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. game — a match
  8. capital — money
  9. game — wild animals
  10. face — to confront
  11. kick — in football
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. capital — a city
  15. cap — a lid
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. spring — a coil
  18. perch — the fish
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. face — part of the head
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. face — to point toward
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com